The present invention relates to an ink jet printing apparatus that can provide ink images in different format sizes on receivers in a fashion in which the receiver waste is minimized.
Ink jet printing has become a prominent contender in the digital output arena because of its non-impact, low-noise characteristics, and its compatibility with plain paper. Ink jet printing avoids the complications of toner transfers and fixing as in electrophotography, and the pressure contact at the printing interface as in thermal resistive printing. Ink jet printing mechanisms include continuous ink jet or drop-on-demand ink jet. U.S. Pat. No. 3,946,398, which issued to Kyser et al. in 1970, discloses a drop-on-demand ink jet printer which applies a high voltage to a piezoelectric crystal, causing the crystal to bend, applying pressure on an ink reservoir and jetting drops on demand. Piezoelectric ink jet printers can also utilize piezoelectric crystals in push mode, shear mode, and squeeze mode. EP 827 833 A2 and WO 98/08687 disclose a piezoelectric ink jet print head apparatus with reduced crosstalk between channels, improved ink protection, and capability of ejecting variable ink drop size.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,129, issued to Endo et al, discloses an electrothermal drop-on-demand ink jet printer which applies a power pulse to an electrothermal heater which is in thermal contact with water based ink in a nozzle. A small quantity of ink rapidly evaporates, forming a bubble which causes an ink drop to be ejected from small apertures along the edge of the heater substrate. This technology is known as Bubblejet(trademark) (trademark of Canon K.K. of Japan).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,490,728, which issued to Vaught et al. in 1982, discloses an electrothermal drop ejection system which also operates by bubble formation to eject drops in a direction normal to the plane of the heater substrate. As used herein, the term xe2x80x9cthermal ink jetxe2x80x9d is used to refer to both this system and system commonly known as Bubblejet(trademark).
One advantage of ink jet printing is its capability in printing large-format images. A relatively narrow print head can print a large image on a receiver by scanning across the large printing area in multiple passes. The currently commercial large-format ink jet printers can provide ink images in the widths of 36xe2x80x3 to 62xe2x80x3. In contrast, a thermal resistive printer utilizes a page-wide print head. The colorants are transferred from a donor web to a receiver at the pressure contact interface between the page-wide print head and the receiver. The manufacturing difficulties and cost make it unfeasible for thermal resistive print head to be wider than a double-page size.
The advancement of ink jet printing technologies has also opened up opportunities in photographic printing for applications in photo minilabs and photo microlabs. In these environments, the ink jet printing techniques have the advantages of easy image manipulation, compatibility with digital image files, and faster turn-around time. When configured properly, ink jet printers can deliver images with qualities comparable to that of the traditional photographs. The typical photographic formats include 3R (3.5xe2x80x3xc3x975xe2x80x3), 4R (4xe2x80x3xc3x976xe2x80x3), page size (8.5xe2x80x3xc3x9711xe2x80x3) etc. For a given width (e.g. 3.5xe2x80x3, 4xe2x80x3, 5xe2x80x3), the image length can also vary (e.g. from 5xe2x80x3 to 12xe2x80x3) from Classic, to HDTV and Panoramic format.
In commercial ink jet printing, it is very desirable to have one ink jet printer to print ink images in both large formats (3xe2x80x2xc3x974xe2x80x2) and traditional photographic formats. The service provider can then provide traditional photographs with added digital features and flexibility as well as poster-sizes ink images for displays for home, offices, signage, and graphic art applications.
An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet printing apparatus for make ink images in variable and flexible formats while at the same time minimizing the waste of receiver material. In the field of photographic printing, the receiver waste is referred to as paper slugs. The receiver waste is undesirable because it increases the cost of receiver per unit area. Moreover, removing receiver waste increases the operation time and decreases throughput.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet printing apparatus that can effectively provide prints with ink images in traditional photographic formats as well as large formats.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet printing apparatus that can effectively provide ink images in small and large formats in a fashion that maximizes receiver usage.
These objects are achieved by ink jet printing apparatus for forming a plurality of ink images on receivers in response to one or more digital image file(s) each including at least one or more digital image(s) and information indicating the number of ink images to be made, comprising:
a) at least one ink jet print head adapted to deliver ink to the receiver;
b) means for providing at least two receiver webs;
c) moving means for selectively moving one or more receiver webs along a receiver path past the ink jet print head;
d) control means responsive to the digital image file(s) for determining the locations of the ink images to be formed on the two receiver webs in such a manner that minimizes receiver waste; and
e) means coupled to the control means for actuating the ink jet print head to form ink images on the receiver webs, whereby receiver waste is minimized.
An advantage of the present invention is that multiple ink image sizes can be provided by one ink jet printing apparatus. The printed ink images can be cut to the desired dimensions by two receiver cutters. The format of the prints with ink images can include the traditional photographic sizes and large format sizes.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the ink images can be printed on a plurality of ink receivers of different widths to facilitate maximum receiver usage thereby minimizing the waste of receiver material. The receivers of different widths can be simultaneously or separately transported by a receiver transport mechanism to respective printing positions.
A further advantage of the present invention is that the printing throughput is increased by printing a plurality of ink images in long printing passes. Furthermore, ink images of different formats can be printed without changing the receiver supplies and thereby also reducing operation time.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is that a time delay is provided after the printing of ink images and before the printed receivers are cut to proper sizes and stacked in a print tray, thereby permitting proper drying of the ink images.